MINISTER of Defence, Mr Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has resigned his position on health grounds. He resigned in a letter dated December 1, 2025, thanking President Bola Tinubu for giving him the opportunity to serve the nation.

Presidential spokesman, Mr Bayo Onanuga, said President Tinubu had accepted the resignation and thanked Abubakar for his dedication to the nation.

President Tinubu will likely appoint his successor later this week. Mr Abubakar, 63, served as governor of Jigawa State from 2015 to 2023. He was appointed as a minister on August 21, 2023, by President Tinubu. He was the national president of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA).

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Under Mr Abubakar, insecurity worsened with kidnap of students and pupils escalating in Africa’s most populous nation. He was a one-time Chairman of the Nigerian Presidential Committee on Fertilizer Distribution to farmers, and also a former Chairman of a Presidential Committee on Non-oil Revenue. He is the founder of Talamiz Group.

Though Mr Abubakar claimed he resigned on ‘health grounds,’ sources close to the presidency said he was overwhelmed by the high level of insecurity in the nation and chose to resign on his own. Another source said he disagreed with the way insecurity is generally handled by the military. One source claimed President Tinubu asked him to step aside.

President Tinubu had met with the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday.Last month, he made changes in the leadership of the Nigerian Armed Forces, relieving some service chiefs, including Musa, of their duties.

Details later..